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From carriages to F1 racing cars

By Robert Jan Bartunek for CNN

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SILVERSTONE, England (CNN) -- The name used to be associated with the manufacturers of the golden carriage of the Dutch royal family. Now Spyker F1 has launched its contender for the 2007 Formula 1 World Championship.

During their inaugural press conference Monday, at Silverstone Race Track, the team's owners were adamant that the Dutch team was in it for the long run and would win races within five years.

Driven by Dutchman Christijan Albers and German rookie Adrian Sutil, Spyker F1 will be powered by Ferrari engines for the 2007 season.

That's not the only thing that links the prancing horse from Maranello to the new Dutch outfit, as both companies date back to the late 19th century.

While mainly being involved in building carriages, Brothers Jacobus and Hendrik Jan Spijker also produced sports and luxury cars between 1898 and 1925.

The company that stands behind the current Spyker F1 effort was founded in 2000 by Dutch businessman Victor Muller and now designs hand-built supercars for buyers with an adequate budget.

Speaking to a large crowd of mainly Dutch media representatives, team manager Michiel Mol outlined his vision of Spyker's future in F1.

He said: "For a small team like ours, this is the right moment in time to enter Formula 1.

"The new regulations in place mean that the gap between the top teams and the smaller ones has been reduced.

"Our final aim is to win the World Championship, that's why we've entered the sport, but for the current season we have to stay realistic and I think we have a good chance of scoring points."

For Albers, 2007 will be the third season in Formula one. Driving for a Dutch team, with all the attention of the local media focused on him, he admits to feeling the pressure.

However, he was convinced that 2007 would be an opportunity to deliver. He said: "The team is much more motivated this year and we finally have a stable working environment, that should bode well for the new season."

Spyker's 2007 car is designed by experienced F1 engineer Mike Gascoyne, who after working for Renault and Toyota joined the team after last season.

Gascoyne is no stranger to the company, as he worked for the old Jordan team, which was located on the same premises, just off the Silverstone Race Track, back in 2001.

Backed by a consortium of mainly Dutch sponsors, Spyker acquired the Midland F1 Team in 2006.

Midland's Russian team owners, who had bought Jordan at the end of 2004, struggled to come up with the budget a competitive F1 operation requires and decided to sell the team on.

While the team was renamed during the final races of the 2006 season it will make its full debut in Melbourne, Australia on March 18.

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